swiss army rangefinder

[chris matthews]

Just saw an ad in Predator Xtreme for a Swiss Army Range finder for $499.

Darryl or anyone else know anything about these? They claim up to 20,000 meters an any weather with a lifetime warranty but it doesn't say if it is a laser or optical unit. Seems almost too good to be true compared to the several thousand dollar units that you guys use or is it an honest good deal?

 

[Darryl Cassel]

They are an optical rangefinder.
The brand is the "Wild" pronounced "Veld".

They are made like the Barr and Stroud and work the same.
They range in meters and were along with the Barr and Stroud, the longrange standby till the Military laser came available after the cold war ended.

Many Longrange hunters are still using them because of the cost of the military laser units.

They are 39" long and 4" in Diameter and must be used with a tripod to be accurate.

Have had several of them over the years and still have one or two.

Hope that helped.
DC

 

[chris matthews]

Thanks Darryl for the info. A couple of more questions, though. Are they any good for that price or should I stick with a Bushnell laser? I don't really have anything past 1000 yards right now, but was wondering if it would be a good "starter" unit until I can afford a military laser unit.

 

[Darryl Cassel]

They are very good and worth the money.

DC

 

[steve smith]

I spotted that thing in September issue of Rifle mag. It appears to be a very well made unit. Would have gotten one but my billfold is getting dangerously thin. You can get them online at
Wild rangefinder

[ 08-18-2001: Message edited by: txhunter ]

 

[CatShooter]

I have a Wild Rangefinder... and love it.
It has some advantages over the military lasers (I also have a AN/GVS-5).

The lasers can get confused when ranging over a long, flat plain.

The beam is fairly large at 600 yds+ and even when you have the target in the sight, you can get reflections from closer, and further stuff.

The optical rangefinders are ideal for Prairie Dog towns, where you can pick one dog out of a lot of clutter, and get a good range reading.

CatShooter

 

[Darryl Cassel]

Catshooter

I must disagree with you on this one. The military laser I am refering to is the Russian unit which is the most powerful of any world power military unit used during the cold war period.
It is accurate to plus/minus 5 meters out to 12 miles and will cause eye damage if fired into someones eyes.

On a tripod, they will range a twig or small rock on level ground at any range you care to reach out to.

The problem with an optical range finder is, you should take three (3) readings or ranges and then take the average of the 3 to be as accurate as possible. This information is in the military instructions. This also takes time to do. When you have moving animals, time is important.

The advantage of the laser is, the range is readable within 2 seconds.
With the Wild Optical or any optical rangefinder, no two people will come up with the same range reading EXACT everytime, where as the laser will.

I have used the Barr and Stroud, Wild, Bausch & Lomb (Military), and Zeiss (Military) optical rangefinders and will take the Russian laser over anything I have used.

For someone starting out in longrange hunting or if they want a less expensive rangefinder, the Wild is a good unit for them. The optics are better then the Barr and Stroud but, not quite as good as the Zeiss.

The point is, you really cant beat a military rangefinder regardless if it's a coincedence (Optical) or laser type.

Just another opinion on the optical and laser rangefinders.

Darryl Cassel

[ 08-19-2001: Message edited by: Darryl Cassel ]